Rescuers continued their search of damaged and collapsed buildings in General Santos city and the surrounding area on Tuesday, a day after the strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines this year killed 37 people and displaced around 20,000.
The Office of Civil Defense said only four people were still considered missing on official records in the southern provinces of Mindanao, but it said that several collapsed and heavily damaged buildings still required thorough searches for possible survivors or casualties.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deployed top defense-mitigation officials from Manila to help oversee search and rescue operations. They were also charged with helping distribute food and construction materials to quake victims and assessing damage to bridges, roads and other infrastructure.
Rescuers worked through the night at some sites, including this partially collapsed shopping center in General Santos cityImage: Daniel Ceng/Anadolu/picture alliance
What happened during the quake?
